No private jet, no limo, no entourage. No gold medal, left that at home. She just kind of showed up. Like everyone else, just a few minutes later, wearing one red shoe, one white shoe and 19 1/2 tattoos.

“;I hear there's a new Natasha,”; said a person close to the Hawaii soccer program, who wasn't much of a fan of the old Natasha Kai, the one who defined superb-but-high-maintenance athlete.

After helping the U.S. to a gold medal, she's a bigger rock star (her listed occupation on MySpace) than ever.

She's still charismatic, unique and unpredictable. Kai's in High Def, everyone else black and white.

But she projects a newfound maturity. Some natural, comes with age. And, as it does for many young people, nearly losing something important woke her up.

National coach Pia Sundhage didn't mince words, because she doesn't know how to, at least in English. A few months before the Olympics she told Kai to get in shape and focus, or she could forget about Beijing. Unlike college, natural talent wouldn't be enough.

“;It was hard, it was a change,”; Kai said. “;I had to change as a person and as a player. In the long run it was good for me, I became a better player.”;

When Kai was at UH, she got by on raw ability.

“;When you have an exceptional talent like Tasha, who does the hardest thing in the game, namely scoring goals, then you have to give her breathing room to perform the magic we all enjoy,”; said Pinsoom Tenzing, her college coach. “;Other than conditioning, I never had problems with Tasha. As all superstars have with coaches, there's some push and pull.”;

Kai's sister, Krisha, was in Beijing for the Olympics, often serving as an interpreter for the team (she was on a church mission in Taiwan and plans to minor in Chinese upon her return to UH).

“;I think she did what the coach brought her in to do, to be that spark,”; said Krisha, who also played for the alumni last night. “;I'm just glad she's the same girl I grew up with. She's got a good head on her shoulders and she hasn't let any of this fame get to her.”;

A rock star, though, for sure. Tuesday the girl from Kahuku goes to Hollywood, where etching No. 21 will be courtesy of tattoo superstar Kat Von D, and part of an upcoming episode of “;LA Ink.”;

“;We've got some other things in the works,”; said Kai, who has an agent and starts her pro soccer career in the spring with a team in New Jersey.

She played hard and long last night, didn't score but her presence on the attack helped the alumni to a 2-2 tie. Her presence, period, helped draw 723 people to the Waipio Peninsula Soccer Stadium.

At halftime she posed for pictures and signed dozens of autographs, smiling that magnificent smile and talking story with the kids who want to be like her some day. Then she did it again after the game, for an even longer line.

Natasha Kai didn't do the hardest thing last night, score a goal. But she did the easiest well, being herself, and that was what really mattered.